


of secrets and sorcery

by jellie_bean



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Angsty Juke, Caleb's a deep kind of evil, F/M, Here's to me writing my own season 2, Protective Luke, Why Did I Write This?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-05
Updated: 2020-10-05
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:20:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,565
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26842051
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jellie_bean/pseuds/jellie_bean
Summary: Julie broke away from the mass of sweaty bodies, from him, head spinning and heartbeat pounding violently in her ears, praying her feet would lead her somewhere with less flashing lights and bass tingling music if that was even possible. She couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t think straight. Where had Flynn gone? What had gotten into Nick?God—she was a total idiot for letting Flynn talk her into going to this party tonight.+++Something truly evil is going on at the Hollywood Ghost Club. No longer does Caleb care about the mediocre teenage boy band.He wants her.
Relationships: Julie Molina/Luke Patterson
Comments: 37
Kudos: 166





	of secrets and sorcery

**Author's Note:**

> What I intended to be *spicy* turned into more *angst* so I apologize in advance, but I still plan on eventually writing that fic ;) I've been toying over the idea for this fic in my brain the past couple of weeks and I'm actually quite pleased with how I got it started. Bear with me as I develop the next part or two though because multi-chapter fics are typically not my *thing*. Buckle up for some pain between our star crossed lifer and ghost boy.

Julie broke away from the mass of sweaty bodies, from him, head spinning and heartbeat pounding violently in her ears, praying her feet would lead her somewhere with less flashing lights and bass tingling music if that was even possible. She couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t think straight. Where had Flynn gone? What had gotten into Nick? 

She stumbled further from the partying crowd, passing wide windows and heavy doors encased by the brick walls this entire building was made from. Her stomach began to twist itself into knots at the memory of what had happened only moments ago. Coming to a sudden halt, she turned and grabbed the handle of the door to her left. Not caring where it led to, and only wanting to escape from Nick’s presence if he had decided to follow her, she quickly bolted into the dark, unlocked room, shutting it behind her without a second thought. 

Her breath came out in heaving gasps, her exposed back slowly sliding down the cool metal of the door behind her. When she reached the cement ground, she dropped her head into her hands, a choked sob escaping her tightened lips. 

God—she was a total idiot for letting Flynn talk her into going to this party tonight. 

Everything had started out fine. How did it suddenly go to shit so unexpectedly? Ugh—if only she had listened to the advice of Reggie, Alex, and Luke and decided to play pranks on trick or treaters with them instead. In hindsight, she had let herself get caught up in Flynn’s enthusiasm about making an appearance for the band’s sake at this influencers party and the prospect of gaining a larger fan base was too appealing to resist. 

Besides, how many times was she going to get the chance to attend a Halloween Glow Rave in her life? She glanced at the neon-colored designs Flynn drew along her arms and over her chest, smiling faintly at the glowing dahlias and butterflies. Her artistic ability was just one of the many talents she possessed and Julie had always urged her that she needed to find more ways to pursue it. 

Conversing with total strangers was another talent that had come in handy tonight, leading to many new acquaintances, some even high profile. Between dancing and snacking, she felt like she could hardly keep up at Flynn’s flying pace. Lucky for her, the adrenaline high she got from the incredible playlist along with the many compliments from said strangers about the band’s music had been enough to keep her going. 

Then he appeared out of nowhere, almost in the same way the boys typically did at the least convenient times, and dragged her with him into the sea of bodies. She squeezed her eyes shut as she forced her mind to replay what had happened next. 

Before she could process the events though, a blinding flash of light cut through her line of vision, fear spreading through her veins like a wildfire. She made an attempt to move away from whatever was now in front of her, yet she was only met with disappointment at the reminder of the unyielding, icy metal door flat against her back.

Footsteps of what sounded like a human pattered against the floor toward her. Wishing desperately that the room wasn’t so damn pitch black, the girl cowered inward, holding up an arm to brace herself. 

“Julie?! Julie is that you? I’ve been looking everywhere—“ 

Julie let out a cry of relief, launching her body into the direction of the speaker, cutting him off before he could finish. 

“Luke!! Oh my god!” she exclaimed, meeting his surprisingly soft, yet sturdy frame, her arms wrapping around his neck with enough strength to catch him off guard, causing them to tumble to the ground in a heap of limbs.

She could now make out the details of his face from this new position—his wide smile revealing his dimples, the warmth of his brown eyes, the expression of joy at the realization they were reunited in each other’s arms. He tugged her tighter to his chest, afraid that if he let her go, she would disappear into the darkness of the night again. 

“How did you—I’m—what—“ Julie could hardly wrap her mind around the fact that he was actually with her in this musty, freezing industrial building located in a hidden corner of LA and the word vomit she was spewing proved it. 

Luke reluctantly repositioned them into a more comfortable position, Julie in his lap with her legs draped off on either side of his body. He gingerly lifted a hand to her cheek, the tears shining in his eyes reflecting from the light of the moon peeking through the expansive widow on the opposite side of the empty room. 

“I—I felt you, Julie, your anxiety and fear, deep inside for a fraction of a second,” his voice was low as he rubbed his thumb against her skin, “I don’t even know how to explain it, but I knew that I had to come find you. I had this feeling like—like I was going to lose you.” He spoke it like she was already fading from his reach and she forced him to look directly into her hazel hues. 

“Hey, I’m here—I’m here,” she reassured with a confidence she mustered only from the despair he was exuding. “Listen, we—we need to leave.”

The memory of her interaction with Nick came crashing back into her like a tidal wave. She leapt up from her seat atop of him and began to nervously pace, biting down on her lower lip. 

“Jules, what is it?” Luke urged, poofing next to her in the same golden light he had earlier. That was definitely different and something they were going to need to figure out later, however, they had to get out of this place immediately. 

Nick’s recent weirdness these past months had shifted into straight creepy tonight. “I talked to Nick back at the party. You know how we all agreed that something was up with him? He said these words to me—as if he was possessed.” Her brow knit together as she thought hard about what he revealed in their time on the dance floor. 

“Luke—he told me that Caleb is coming.”

The phantom crossed his arms over his chest. “We escaped his powers before, we can do it again,” he declared, his shoulders squaring with conviction. 

Julie stopped her pacing and looked at him, dread rising from the pit of her stomach and into her throat again. “No that’s the thing. He’s not coming for you this time.” She was definitely about to be sick as she whispered flatly, “He’s coming for me.”

She couldn’t remember the last time she had seen Luke’s face transform into a grimace of unadulterated fury because he just wasn’t the type of guy to get this angry, yet Julie was positive he was about to explode. 

He clenched his fingers into fists at his side, taking a deep breath as he tenaciously spoke, “If he thinks he’ll be able to get to you, he messed with the wrong band of ghosts.” Luke stepped forward, interlocking his fingers with hers. “I’m not letting anything happen to you, Julie.”

The girl nodded fervently, seeking to draw out some of his courage and translate it into her own, but her knees trembled at the prospect of finding herself at the mercy of the psychotic magician that almost led to her loss of three people that literally changed her life. 

A clamor resounded distantly outside of the room they were standing in and Julie knew they needed to start moving before it was too late. 

“We gotta go,” she motioned toward the window, and they ran toward it, both trying to figure out how to make it budge. 

“There’s no lock!” 

Luke glanced back at the door in concern, and she could sense they were running out of time and options. “I have an idea that could work. Do you trust me?” 

With what little they had left to work with, she could only reply with a nod, her adrenaline running high. Julie felt one of his arms cross under hers and the other move beneath her legs as he lifted her into a bridal style hold. 

Under normal circumstances, her heartbeat would probably flutter at the sweet gesture. His nose would nuzzle tenderly against her hair, breathing in her flowery scent. An indescribable fondness would pass wordlessly between the pair like a connection shared by the drifting tide of the ocean and the grains of sand on the beach. Each tug of salty water pressing a reminding kiss on the nearly invisible specks of how needed and desired they were in the grandiose of the universe. 

In this foreign building though, she clung to him as if her life depended on it. Julie knew what he was going to try to attempt without him uttering a single word. In simplest terms, it was crazy, but they were caught between a dead end and a maniac if he didn’t at least give it a shot. 

She felt him press a featherlight kiss to her temple and she squeezed her eyes shut tightly in anticipation, praying it would not be the last. 

Then everything went dark.


End file.
